Recent die-cast News
BMW strengthening competitiveness in aluminium moulds
Experts from BMW's Light Metals in Landshut, Germany have come up with a multi-plate mold technology that can reduce carbon dioxide during machining and reduce weights. "With the development of new gating and demolding systems through direct gating in multi-plate mold technology, part designs optimized in terms of function rather than runners can be achieved in the die casting process. "In addition, in the case of constant functional performance, the weight of the components can be reduced by 20 percent," explains Klaus Summer, Head of Maintenance and Pre-development of Tooling at Landshut Light Metal Foundry.
Using the multi-plate technology developed by BMW Landshut, it is possible to open multiple feed channels to the mold cavity. Improvements in this process allow the material's use in product design to be optimized and transformed into alloys with lower CO2 emissions in a weight-neutral manner. BMW said that the existing facilities at the Landshut foundry could also be used to cast structural parts in the future. In addition, BMW experts spoke about the sustainable optimization of CO2 emissions during the production and utilization phases. The light metal foundry in Landshut is the largest production area of the components plant in Lower Bavaria and produces light metal engines, chassis and body structure castings. In 2021 alone, the team produced 3.1 million die castings with a total weight of nearly 67,000 tons.
The Polestar 5 having a glued aluminum platform
Volvo's electric brand is devoting every effort to using aluminium for the new Polestar 5 model. The Swedish company recently announced that the four-door electric GT will have an all-new, bespoke platform made of glued aluminium, which is expected to provide performance and environmental benefits. 'Such systems are rarely used in mass production cars without compromising quality' said Polestar. The R&D team from Coventry, UK, has now developed a manufacturing process that can manufacture and is fast for the OEM in which the body and platform are built together.
"The chassis and body are designed together," Swift explains, head of vehicle engineering at Polestar UK R&D. Many of the exterior and interior panels are glued as an integral part of the overall structure. In the production process, various types of aluminum and manufacturing methods are used. There are some intellectual property issues involved, so no further information can be disclosed. However, the head of development revealed that the structure of glued aluminium has several advantages and the two most important points are reducing weights and increasing stiffness.
The role of aluminium in car manufacturing is gaining new attention with custom aluminium platforms like the Polestar 5. Recent, Swift is only specifying the platform and process to make it easier to prototype and begin physical testing earlier. "This gives us more time to optimize and match with performance of our virtual models, and we can reduce production time". He said. The molds needed for early prototypes are cheaper and more efficient than similar molds for traditional steel platforms. This saves costs and makes the production of prototypes much faster.
The Polestar 5's body-in-white is also said to be lighter than smaller vehicles and provide the torsional rigidity for a two-door. When asked about the easy repair and recycling of aluminum systems, "that's why we've included new ways to control recycled content in the recently released Polestar O2 concept car and improve the recyclability of metal components", Swift said. As a result, different grades of aluminum are used throughout the chassis. Different grades of products are labelled to help them be recycled more efficiently and retain their properties.
"At this time, we cannot release any details about the investment and planned unit numbers", Swift has been tight-lipped about further quantitative statements. In the coming months, the team will grow from the current 280 engineers to around 500 engineers, at which point they will play a key role in increasing R&D capabilities.
Experts from BMW's Light Metals in Landshut, Germany have come up with a multi-plate mold technology that can reduce carbon dioxide during machining and reduce weights. "With the development of new gating and demolding systems through direct gating in multi-plate mold technology, part designs optimized in terms of function rather than runners can be achieved in the die casting process. "In addition, in the case of constant functional performance, the weight of the components can be reduced by 20 percent," explains Klaus Summer, Head of Maintenance and Pre-development of Tooling at Landshut Light Metal Foundry.
Using the multi-plate technology developed by BMW Landshut, it is possible to open multiple feed channels to the mold cavity. Improvements in this process allow the material's use in product design to be optimized and transformed into alloys with lower CO2 emissions in a weight-neutral manner. BMW said that the existing facilities at the Landshut foundry could also be used to cast structural parts in the future. In addition, BMW experts spoke about the sustainable optimization of CO2 emissions during the production and utilization phases. The light metal foundry in Landshut is the largest production area of the components plant in Lower Bavaria and produces light metal engines, chassis and body structure castings. In 2021 alone, the team produced 3.1 million die castings with a total weight of nearly 67,000 tons.
The Polestar 5 having a glued aluminum platform
Volvo's electric brand is devoting every effort to using aluminium for the new Polestar 5 model. The Swedish company recently announced that the four-door electric GT will have an all-new, bespoke platform made of glued aluminium, which is expected to provide performance and environmental benefits. 'Such systems are rarely used in mass production cars without compromising quality' said Polestar. The R&D team from Coventry, UK, has now developed a manufacturing process that can manufacture and is fast for the OEM in which the body and platform are built together.
"The chassis and body are designed together," Swift explains, head of vehicle engineering at Polestar UK R&D. Many of the exterior and interior panels are glued as an integral part of the overall structure. In the production process, various types of aluminum and manufacturing methods are used. There are some intellectual property issues involved, so no further information can be disclosed. However, the head of development revealed that the structure of glued aluminium has several advantages and the two most important points are reducing weights and increasing stiffness.
The role of aluminium in car manufacturing is gaining new attention with custom aluminium platforms like the Polestar 5. Recent, Swift is only specifying the platform and process to make it easier to prototype and begin physical testing earlier. "This gives us more time to optimize and match with performance of our virtual models, and we can reduce production time". He said. The molds needed for early prototypes are cheaper and more efficient than similar molds for traditional steel platforms. This saves costs and makes the production of prototypes much faster.
The Polestar 5's body-in-white is also said to be lighter than smaller vehicles and provide the torsional rigidity for a two-door. When asked about the easy repair and recycling of aluminum systems, "that's why we've included new ways to control recycled content in the recently released Polestar O2 concept car and improve the recyclability of metal components", Swift said. As a result, different grades of aluminum are used throughout the chassis. Different grades of products are labelled to help them be recycled more efficiently and retain their properties.
"At this time, we cannot release any details about the investment and planned unit numbers", Swift has been tight-lipped about further quantitative statements. In the coming months, the team will grow from the current 280 engineers to around 500 engineers, at which point they will play a key role in increasing R&D capabilities.
